Perceived NFL wisdom has always been on any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team. These days, it's more a case of in any given season, any team can make the Super Bowl.

Carolina are a case in point. The Panthers powered their way to last year's NFL finale and only lost 32-29 on a last-gasp Patriots field goal.

Yet two years earlier, their regular season win-loss record was 1-15, and it was only 7-9 in the campaign before their tilt at Super Bowl glory. This season they were back to 7-9.

Pats fans had no doubt where their team was heading

So how have New England bucked the trend to become the latest members of the NFL dynasties club?

The superb coaching abilities of team boss Bill Belichick are a major factor. He is a supreme tactician, able to devise game-plans to rein in the most dangerous of opponents.

He and the Patriots' management have also eschewed the 'win now' approach adopted by other teams who load up with expensive, and usually veteran, free agents looking for one more shot at the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

It didn't pay off for Oakland in 2003, when they were hammered 48-21 in the Super Bowl by Tampa Bay. In a slump since, they went 5-11 this season, finishing last in the AFC West.

New England are also astute movers in the NFL draft, picking and trading for players who may not necessarily make an immediate impact but have talent which can be improved and honed.

This helps to make the Patriots a distinctly un-starry, low-key collective. Quarterback Tom Brady, as modest and unassuming as they come, sets the tone.

All these factors help to explain their success.

Philadelphia ran them close in Jacksonville, but while their wait for Super Bowl glory goes on, the Patriots join the Packers, Steelers, 49ers and Cowboys in the NFL's most select club.